State v. Davis

OPINION

SIMONETT, Justice.

The issue in this case is whether the holding of Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 106 S.Ct. 1712, 90 L.Ed.2d 69 (1986), should be extended to peremptory strikes on the basis of religion. In an unpublished opinion, the court of appeals concluded that because the peremptory strike was based on race-neutral grounds there was no equal *768protection violation, and, after reviewing the other claims of error, affirmed the defendant’s conviction. We granted further review on the peremptory challenge issue and now affirm.

Defendant Edward Lee Davis, an African-American, was…